Landfills, serious environmental problem in Dominican Republic

The polluting smoke that still emanates from the Duquesa landfill after eleven days is not the most serious problem that the country has in relation to the management of solid waste. There are 356 garbage dumps in the same critical conditions, for which the approval of the Solid Waste law that will allow the final disposal of garbage to be sustainable and efficient.

This was considered by Jorge Luis Bisonó, director of Dominicana Limpia, who said that legislators cannot wait any longer to approve that law because, with it, a legal framework will be established for the comprehensive management of garbage and the application of sanctions to those who pollute.

He also expressed that, without that law, the councils will continue to be devoid of tools that allow them to manage landfills efficiently from an environmental point of view. The aforementioned bill was approved by the Chamber of Deputies in December last year and is pending approval by the senators.

Bisonó also expressed that the garbage dumps that extend throughout the national territory have the particularity of being located near rivers or ravines, so that the contamination that occurs in these spaces reaches the coasts, even in tourist poles.

The Duchess case (Duquesa Landfill)

As for the environmental problems generated by Duquesa, located in the Santo Domingo Norte municipality, he said that the presidential commission that is in charge of establishing the guidelines for the technical closure was scheduled to start that process in March.

In his opinion, the health crisis caused by the expansion of Covid-19 delayed that initiative.
He explained that the technical closure “is being done in parts because you have to leave a waste disposal area, make cells with tarps to prevent the water from going underground.”

On the possibility of installing a new landfill in another area of ​​Greater Santo Domingo, he said that this is a topic to discuss because nobody wants a landfill like Duquesa to be placed near his home or properties.